IRVINE – In a brightly lit pet store last week, puppies scampered about in open cages, nibbling and licking the eager hands that scratched their bellies and ears.

After today, they'll be gone as the lease expires on the last store in Irvine that sells pets.

At the Irvine Spectrum for nine years, Russo's Spectrum Pets is a casualty of a City Council ordinance passed last year banning the retail sale of cats and dogs. In compliance with the law, the Irvine Company said last year that it would no longer lease new space to retailers that sell cats and dogs nor would it renew Russo's lease.

The store's Newport Beach location will stay open until the lease expires in a few years. Family owned and operated since 1978, it's the last remaining original store at Fashion Island.

On weekends, the store is so packed you can barely walk through, said owner Dan DiGiacomo, who claims his stores are the main reason the Irvine Spectrum and Fashion Island are so dog-friendly today. The store lets visitors take dogs out on walks, they bring puppies to convalescent homes to cheer up seniors, and they hosted one of the first Halloween pet costume contests back in 1981.

"Someone once said to me, 'If Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth, you're a close second,'" DiGiacomo said.

After Irvine passed the ban on pet stores last year, Dana Point, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach followed suit with similar ordinances. Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance last week banning the sale of commercially bred pets in stores.

Animal rights activists have long criticized pet stores for buying cats and dogs from puppy mills, where the living conditions are often condemned as inhumane. Malnourished, stressed and cramped, animals growing up in such conditions can later suffer from birth defects and behavioral problems, making them unsuitable as pets.

"We should be thinking of ourselves as guardians of these beings," said Tina Locklear, president of Orange County People for Animals, a Yorba Linda-based nonprofit that has staged protests at pet stores throughout Orange County, including Russo's.

But DiGiacomo said his store has never bought puppies from mills and has a good reputation for selling healthy pets from licensed breeders, many of whom are local.

"Because we're in shopping centers, everybody thinks we're all the same – we're not," said DiGiacomo, who sat on an advisory committee to get the California Pet Animal Protection Act passed and on the founding committee of America's Family Pet Expo.

But in August 2011, the Irvine Co. decided to phase out pet stores anyway.

"The decision came after hearing input from interested parties as part of the city of Irvine's consideration and ultimate adoption of (the) ordinance," said Mike Lyster, Irvine Co.'s vice president of corporate communications, in an emailed statement.

Locklear said an investigation last year by the nonprofit In Defense of Animals found evidence linking Russo's to puppy mills, but she had not provided any evidence as of press time. IDA frequently conducts investigations into potential cases of animal abuse and exploitation.

Bill Dyer, director of IDA's Southern California branch, said he was not aware of any case involving Russo's.

Puppies at Russo's Spectrum Pets, the last pet store selling pets in Irvine, await sale or transfer to the owner's Newport Beach pet store Wednesday. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Puppies at Russo's Spectrum Pets, the last pet store in Irvine, await sale or transfer to the owner's Newport Beach pet store Wednesday. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dan DiGiacomo, owner of Russo's Spectrum Pets, stands outside his retail space in Irvine Wednesday. He's closing the doors and relocating the stock to his Newport Beach location. Russo's Spectrum Pets is the last pet store selling pets in Irvine. The city passed an ordinance last year banning pet stores, and the Irvine Co. (which owns Fashion Island in Newport Beach, The Market Place in Irvine and Tustin and Irvine Spectrum Center) said last year it would no longer lease new space to retailers selling pets. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Puppies at Russo's Spectrum Pets, the last pet store in Irvine, await sale or transfer to the owner's Newport Beach pet store Wednesday. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Puppies at Russo's Spectrum Pets, the last pet store in Irvine, await sale or transfer to the owner's Newport Beach pet store Wednesday. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dan DiGiacomo, owner of Russo's Spectrum Pets, stands outside his retail space in Irvine Wednesday. He's closing the doors and relocating the stock to his Newport Beach location. Russo's Spectrum Pets is the last pet store selling pets in Irvine. The city passed an ordinance last year banning pet stores, and the Irvine Co. (which owns Fashion Island in Newport Beach, The Market Place in Irvine and Tustin and Irvine Spectrum Center) said last year it would no longer lease new space to retailers selling pets. An enlarged version of the letter he received from the city informing him that his business was no longer welcome hangs in the window. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Puppies at Russo's Spectrum Pets, the last pet store in Irvine, await sale or transfer to the owner's Newport Beach pet store Wednesday. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dan DiGiacomo, owner of Russo's Spectrum Pets, coordinates the transfer of pets from his Irvine store to his Fashion Island store in Newport Beach Wednesday. Russo's Spectrum Pets, the last pet store that sells pets in Irvine, is closing its doors in Irvine after the city passed an ordinance last year banning pet stores, and the Irvine Co. (which owns Fashion Island in Newport Beach, The Market Place in Irvine and Tustin and Irvine Spectrum Center) said last year it would no longer lease new space to retailers selling pets. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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